Well, it looks like the hybrid of Cactus League spring training and music wasn’t quite done yet after all. At least it wasn’t in downtown Phoenix on Saturday March 14th when long running Arizona Rush Tribute band Freewill took over Herberger Theater.
In lieu of (predominantly) modern rock and country artists at an all-day outdoor two-weekend festival last month, fans of Freewill were more than happy to get a nearly 3-hour welcome dose of the music of Rush instead… indoors to be precise.
One could say the biggest takeaway of the night was the fact that the current iteration of Freewill focused on blocks, if you will, of Rush’s 80s material…by and large.
Kicking off the first of two 75-minute sets with “Distant Early Warning” to the delight of the 265 fans in attendance (according to box office staff), the band continued with three more songs from 1984’s “Grace Under Pressure”, “The Body Electric”, a surprising “Kid Gloves”, and quintessential Rush “deep cut” “Between The Wheels”, respectively.
Also, it could be argued that this particular album is the “lost classic” in the Rush catalog. Or put another way, time has been a lot kinder to it than it gets credit for, truth be told. Nice to see the members of Freewill give it its due respect.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t a “block” of songs played from 1985’s Power Windows. That said, they did an excellent take on “The Big Money”. However, it would be the lone song played from an album that really is an unheralded masterpiece in that decade of rock music.
It’s a combination of exceptional songwriting, top-notch production from the late Peter Collins and superb performances that all added up to one of Rush’s finest moments on record. Dare I say it, only second to Moving Pictures as Rush’s most cohesive album of the band’s career.
If there’s a side to Freewill that stands out onstage, it’s their not-so-subtle “tribute”, if you will, to Rush’s very dry sense of humor. At various points, you would see members of their crew dressed in red jumpsuits, a dancing skeleton, and of course the alter ego of founding bassist/vocalist/keyboardist Dave Cornwall, otherwise known as…”Spageddy Lee”.
In a phone chat I had with Cornwall three days before the show, I asked him how that came to be.
“It really came from us just throwing ideas around when the original Freewill lineup started in the early 90s. At the time, one would refer to himself as “The Analog Kid” and the other called himself the “Digital Man”, little things like that.”
He added. “And our original drummer eventually became “Bert Pert”. Then one day I just thought of… “Spageddy Lee”, and it has remained there ever since.”
I suppose nobody can deny that it’s most certainly “Rush-style” humor without question. To that point, Freewill gets it, if nothing else.
Back onstage, it was time for two songs from 1987’s Hold Your Fire with “Force Ten” and “Time Stand Still”. It should be said that there were several issues with Cornwall’s microphones at times throughout the entire performance. It got to a point where I noticed two women in front of me literally pointing to their ears signaling (no pun intended good Rush readers) to Cornwall that he couldn’t be heard at all.
Still, Cornwall was a total pro throughout and just rolled with it as the music continued. If one mic was out, he immediately went to the other as quickly as possible.
Set one concluded with a trio from 1991’s Roll The Bones with the title track going down a storm. It’s one of those Rush songs that indeed gets a bad rap (again, no pun intended) in some Rush fan circles. But make no mistake, it was a consistent showstopper when Rush played it live then and continues to be with tribute bands today.
I asked Cornwall if there was any particular reason why the band chose to perform mostly 80s Rush this time out. To this day, it’s still a polarizing decade to discuss for Rush fans— inexplicably I contend. Frankly, it was a very creative decade for Rush. They also packed arenas coast-to-coast… like never before. He explained:
“With our most recent shows, we concentrated on 70s material quite a bit, so we thought it was time to mix things up this time. Also, with Richard LeShander (guitars) and Dave Raheb (drums) in the band now, we really wanted to do a lot of the “synth-era” songs, while also including songs from Roll The Bones as well.”
Cornwall continued: “We also liked the idea of doing blocks of songs from those particular albums. It was quite a bit of rehearsal involved, but we certainly enjoyed it.”
After a 20-minute intermission, Freewill returned to the stage for another 12-songs that commenced with an all-time Rush classic, “The Spirit Of Radio”. Yes, “Freewill” was also played, followed by a surprise rendition of “Entre Nous”. And of course, the album cover of 1980s Permanent Waves was displayed on the video screen at the back of the stage.
Of course, it was inevitable that we would get a block from Rush’s biggest-selling album to date, 1981’s Moving Pictures. LeShander teased the audience with a snippet of “The Camera Eye” but it wasn’t played. However, the audience did get “Red Barchetta”, “YYZ” and “Limelight”.
To the point of it being Rush’s most successful album, let’s be honest. A band or artist’s biggest-selling album isn’t always their best… artistically speaking. To that point, 45 years later, Moving Pictures is a very rare exception to the rule, in this writer’s humble opinion.
Next, it was time for some tunes from 1982’s Signals. Of course, “Subdivisions” had to be played first while “The Analog Kid” remains a fan-favorite with hardcore Rush followers— rightly so I might add. Many were pleasantly surprised that “Countdown” was included, while the original video appeared on screen. Rush itself only played it during the 1982-83 New World Tour. It was never played again, which is understandable quite frankly.
I’m sure there were a few fans who were wondering why only one Rush song was played from the 1970s. That said, since that was indeed the case, perhaps the guys in Freewill knew that at least the “2112 Overture” and “The Temples Of Syrinx” are mandatory. With “Tom Sawyer” concluding the night, it’s safe to say that most fans were more than happy with the performance. Ultimately, the fans and the band clearly enjoyed themselves.
Despite the obvious (and frankly, embarrassing) distraction of the mics going out (or simply not turned on, take your pick), I applaud the members of Freewill for delivering a well-rounded set list from a decade that was arguably Rush’s creative apex. In other words, they took the music seriously without taking themselves seriously. Which is so… Rush-like. For that, I’ll extend the courtesy.
The final verdict? Four out of five stars.
Freewill set list:
Set 1:
Distant Early Warning
The Body Electric
Kid Gloves
Between The Wheels
The Big Money
Force Ten
Time Stand Still
Superconductor
The Pass
Roll The Bones
Ghost Of A Chance
Dreamline
20-minute intermission
Set 2:
The Spirit Of Radio
Freewill
Entre Nous
Red Barchetta
YYZ
Limelight
Subdivisions
The Analog Kid
New World Man
Countdown
2112: (Overture \& The Temples Of Syrinx)
Tom Sawyer
ADDENDUM: During my chat with Cornwall, one of the first things he said that caught my ear immediately was his desire for the Freewill show to get fans “ready” for Rush’s upcoming Fifty-Something tour. Yes, it will stop in Phoenix at Desert Diamond (read: Glendale) Arena for two nights on Tuesday December 1st and Thursday December 3rd. I wanted to include two perspectives on this after the review above: mine and Cornwall’s.
All that in mind, please allow me to give some thoughts on that.
First, I won’t mince words. In short order, this is not a “reunion tour”. To my thinking, it’s a new incarnation of “Rush”. With the passing of longtime drummer and lyricist Neil Peart in January 2020, a credible reunion isn’t possible. At all.
In effect, Rush is now a duo with surviving members Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson moving forward with new “touring drummer” Anika Nilles.
To be clear, I have no problem with Lee and Lifeson wanting to play their own music again after being inactive (as a band) for 11 years. Who can blame them for that? However, I cannot comprehend why they couldn’t go out as Lee, Lifeson and Nilles, then subtitle it… Performing The Music of Rush.
Because, make no mistake: that’s exactly what it will be. It should be judged on its own merits. Furthermore, there is no reason they still couldn’t honor Peart simultaneously under that moniker— or something similar. For the record, I don’t buy for a minute that they wouldn’t be able to sell tickets that way either. That is complete, utter nonsense on its face. But I digress.
Having said all that, I thought it was only appropriate that Cornwall had the final word on this. I sincerely wanted to hear his take on this subject. Not only as a hardcore Rush fan, but as a musician who continues to pay tribute to one of rock’s most influential bands of all time.
So I asked him: “Dave, I want to know what your initial reaction was to the news that Rush was “going back on tour”. Did you jump for joy or were you skeptical? Or even indifferent?
“Wow, that’s a great question, and a fair one too”, Cornwall said. “Initially, like most Rush fans, I was shocked. The news kind of came out of nowhere, or at least it seemed that way. But as time went on I started to get more on board with it. While I certainly understand the point-of-view you and some Rush fans have, I think I’ll just be happy to hear this music live again, as a celebration”, he stated candidly.
He concluded. “Also, I’m so glad they went with Anika Nilles. Honestly, it would’ve been too predictable to go with someone like (Dream Theater’s) Mike Portnoy….or any known drummer for that matter. All in all, I look forward to seeing her and what she’ll bring to the music. So, in short, yes, I’m ready for Rush 3.0”.
